Did you watch the Juno Awards last night? We did! But our favorite part is the candid photos uploaded by our Facebook and Twitter friends last night. Here are some highlights:

Hannah, daughter of Eric Alper of eOne Music on stage during Deadmau5. Who says Feist was the Bell of the Ball?!

Peter Katz on the red carpet and thrilled for his nomination for Music DVD of the Year

Toronto Independent Music Awards judge Jully Black on the red carpet in an appropriate colour! She was nominated for R&B/SOUL Recording of the Year - "Sell It Off" ft. Kardinal Offishall.

Theresa Micallef owner of tenfour Communications snaps an overhead view of the Junos before the action.

TIMA 2007 winners Good Lovelies had a nomination for ROOTS/TRADITIONAL: GROUP, looking great on the red carpet!

Dan Mangan cleaned up with wins in NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR and ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR categories. Seems like just yesterday when we were listening to Postcards and Daydreaming!

Martin Solveig & Dragonette win Dance Recording of The Year. No doubt, "Hello" had international appeal!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Home and Native Sound Series Deadline Quickly Approaches, Season 2 Nominee Qualifiers announced shortly!
 Home and Native Sound Series 2012 Season Deadline Quickly Approaches; Program Changes

JANUARY 18, 2011 TORONTO – The Home and Native Sound Series (HNSS) has been taking place all summer and fall at Clinton’s Tavern in Toronto on Sundays. Bands from Ontario perform to compete in 3 live categories and are scored by industry professionals. The competition will end with the last showcase schedule for Sunday, April 29, 2012.  The deadline for Ontario bands to apply for HNSS is Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 5PM EST.

A long-list of nominees will be announced by early May. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter before the Toronto Independent Music Awards (“TIMA”) 2012. Winners will receive a $15,000 prize package per category, a TIMA award, and the choice to perform at the TIMA 2012 award ceremony or alternately, a new music festival.

The application fee is only $12.50 or $6.50 with a TIMA application, APPLY NOW to secure your performance slot: http://homeandnativesound.com/entry/

Check out music from some of the current qualifiers from HNSS Season 1 and Season 2: http://soundcloud.com/homeandnativesound

About the Toronto Independent Music Awards and the development of Home and Native Sound.

The Toronto Independent Music Awards is a bi-annual award ceremony founded in 2004 with the goal of providing a platform for independent artists to showcase, network within the industry, and gather the tools for success. In 2006, the BEST LIVE showcase series was developed so artists could compete to be considered for two live music award categories, BEST LIVE – Acoustic and BEST LIVE – Electric. In 2008 the BEST LIVE -Urban category was added to showcase rap MCs and R&B singer/songwriters. In 2011 the BEST LIVE showcase series was renamed to the Home and Native Sound Series.

The coveted TIMA/HNSS prizes are all provided by our partners and sponsors, and are designed to give winners valuable opportunities to help them advance in the music industry. In 2010 the total value of the HNSS prize packages alone equalled $45,000. This past year, 361 best live entries were received from bands across Canada.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Megan McCann
PR Director
Home and Native Sound Series
info@homeandnativesound.com

HNSS Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/homeandnativesound/

Hey Headbangers,

A lot of you are emailing me asking for more live performance tips. I heard ya! So, I consulted a couple of my colleagues who see a lot of live music or who are in bands themselves. As per your request, I compiled a list of the most common errors that bands make while performing. These mistakes occur at all levels – from beginner bands to professional acts. Here you go, a “What NOT to-do List” for your next Ball:

1. Apologizing

Don’t apologize to the audience for ANYTHING (unless you accidentally hit someone in the head with a mic stand or your steel-toed boot).

Don’t put down your own band before you even play a song!!!  What’s wrong with you!? I don’t care if you’ve never played live before, I don’t care if you don’t like the song you’re about to play….I don’t want you to apologize because you’re sick or your guitarist broke strings and had a bad day…

Your typical audience member probably has 6 rugrats at home and gets one night a year out. They’ve decided to go to a bar that you happen to be playing at….they got their own problems mmmk? They don’t want to hear yours. So unless you’re going to apologize for their entire sad existence, the least you can do is ROCK! Don’t apologize. I just want you to rock. Even if you don’t rock, don’t apologize because you suck. You feel me?

2. Being Unprepared

Show the people around you that you know what you’re doing by being prepared. Show up on time for load-in and have your gear ready. Email a stage plot and input list ahead of time to the stage manager or booker and bring an extra copy with you. If you don’t know what a stage plot or input list is, it’s time to figure it out. A full sound check might not be realistic, but at least get a line check (psssttt… if you’re on time, professional and ready, the likelihood is your band is going to get the sound check). Guitarists should always have backup strings, singers should have backup batteries and even an extra (muted) wired mic.

 I know that showing up early and making sure you have all your gear can mean a lot of time and a lot waiting around. However, such is the game of Rockstar… and you wanna be a Rockstar right!?

3. Playing Too Loud

Unbeknownst to most musicians, people’s ears are sensitive and delicate.  I know that some of you like to sit in your lo’ riders with your bass turned way up high. To be frank, that hurts my ears.. and I swear I ain’t no grandma… (ok, sometimes i’m a grandma).

Point is, industry people listen to a lot of music and probably blew their ears out long ago at a Billy Idol concert 3 inches from the loud speaker (and o m g, it was so worth it!). As such, out of courtesy to your audience and to the other musicians in your band, don’t play too loud. I’ve seen industry peeps walk straight out of a venue because the band was too loud. Plus, do you really want to have the rest of your band turn up because you insist on ripping it up to eleven??

4. Being Too Drunk (or High) to ROCK!

Everything in moderation kids. Your next live gig is probably not the best time to try those wonderful new ‘shrooms or take 5 shots. Do you want to be THAT stumbling drunk singer or THAT band that’s always late to go on?

NO! Because eventually, no one is going to want to book you!

Do you really want to forget the name of the chick that wrote her number on your hand? Or lose the card of the industry rep you just met?

NO! That’s not going to be you because you read this!

Keep at it, and you’re not going to be in a band…you’re going to be drunk at home singing “ALL BY MYSSSELLLFFFF” like Noel Gallagher because you got into a big drunk fight with your booker or your bandmate.  The key is to know your limits.

5. Good God, for your own sake – DON’T BE A DICK TO ANYONE!

The venue owner or sound(wo)man’s mother-in-law’s sister is probably Lady GaGa’s masseuse mmmmmkkkk?! They don’t need another little punk givin ‘em rockstar attitude…or maybe they’re totally wacked out and live at home with 10 cats. Whatever the case may be, don’t be a dick to anyone.

Seriously, there is no need. Even if everyone else’s ego trippin’ you don’t need to act like that. When you walk into a new club you have no idea who anyone is, who they’ve worked with or who their friends/family are.

I’m not saying you need to get pushed around, but there is absolutely no harm in being nice. The soundperson has a lot of control over how good you sound on stage. You don’t want your sound to cut out right before a badass solo do you?… Do you?! Plus, you can learn a lot from soundpersons and venue staff like how to mic your own instruments, how to properly roll cables (yes, there is a proper way) and how to bake one mean vegan pumpkin loaf.

Don’t get me wrong, their are A LOT of really mean, ego trippin’ and unprofessional venue owners, staff, event coordinators, producers and sound people out there.. Good people are hard to find in any profession. Just remember, music is a profession. Professional courtesy is key.

I’m not telling you to be disingenuous or tolerate BS, just do what you need to do to put on one hell of a gig. If you’re nice, the only bad thing people can say about you is “Gez, that band rocks AND is full of nice people.” You’ll get re-booked. I promise ya.

Finally, don’t forget to be courteous to other bands. If you’re gigging in the same area, you’ll see that band again. Even if you don’t want to see them again… you will. If you’re nice, at least it’ll be a tolerable experience.

Share your kit, have a beer with them after the gig – maybe sometime soon after you’ll be gig swapping in another city, speaking on the same radio show (if radio still exists) or sharing a set on the same festival.

The music community is a small tight-knit world. You don’t want to be kicked out before you even get in.

and last, but not least…………

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, turn off your cordless microphone before taking a bump backstage with your new girlfriend.

“SNORT!! Aww, Oh God Baby I Love You, I Got To Bring You On Tour With Me.” Yes, we all heard you.

(True story).

For more tips on how to improve your live performance, click here

Cheers and Happy New Year,

Executive Producer, Toronto Independent Music Awards
Daniela Oliva

A HUGE Thank You to the wonderful: Todd Pinnell, Joe Oliva, Dave Borins, Nikki Teen, and Alana Leprich for your time and comments on this blog.

Hey all,

TIMA’s have a new TUMBLR page, check it out: http://torontoima.tumblr.com

Updates will be music tracks, mostly Canadian independent artists or anything awesome. You can submit your music or updates to be featured on the blog!

Thanks,

-TIMA TEAM

New interview!! Check it out here.